Noriko Ishikawa
Noriko Ishikawa is a main female protagonist of the Wonderland series of Wasteland 2011. She is friends with Mikado Ryuugamine, Masaomi Kida, Anri Sonohara, and Chiharu Hashimoto. Appearance and Personality Appearance Noriko has long black hair to her high back, brown eyes, and a mole under her left eye. Aside from her Raira school uniform, her outfit consists of a lacy white top and jeans. Personality On the surface, Noriko seems like a normal teenage girl. However, there are hints that she might be mentally unstable. It is implied that she can be suicidal. So much so that her friends are always trying to protect her. She doesn't like anyone trying to control her, like Yuki and her therapists. Still, recent events could be sending her on the verge of another psychological breakdown. It is hinted that she might have another personality inside of her. Back Story Izaya Orihara and Junko Nakahara keep saying that Noriko's personal information on her files are either missing or fake. Yuki had her on medication and going to therapy ever since she was a child. During the sessions, she wouldn't talk about what was wrong with her with her therapists. It is also hinted that she might be the reason that her two previous therapists are missing. Noriko was on medication before the series started and she decided to stop taking it. Storyline History Waking Up in Wonderland Noriko appears to be having nightmares again. Her guardian, Yuki, tries to firgure out why, but she pushes her away annoyed while making her lunch. Noriko also attended therapy begrudgingly. It is implied that the disappearance of her two previous therapists and the murder of the boss who ran the place might be connected to her. Distorted Wonderland Noriko's dreams begin to get more real around her. She is annoyed when Shimamoto-sensei starts asking about Yuki's whereabouts. She clearly didn't care what happened to her guardian and left without giving him anything to work with on where Yuki disappeared to. Wonderland Carnival Junko Nakahara calls Noriko to her office to talk about why some information was missing from her file. The girl denied that anything was missing. The nurse leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing her to freeze and break down. Noriko and her friends meet Ringo. The freshman girl seems too eager to latch onto the group. Eventually, the girls befriend Ringo. They even go to her house for tea and sweets after school. Later, things took a darkened turn when Ringo took them to the hospital to meet her younger brother. Noriko, Anri, and Chiharu stood horrified as a caterpillar clown-faced monster sprung up from the bed and bit off Ringo's head. Later, Noriko's dreams keep pulling into reality she finds herself first seeing a carousal and then the blackened schoolgirl trying to grab her. She tried to get back to her room but found herself in an old-time carnival, seeing the blackened schoolgirl, and her in an operating room. In the season finale, Noriko sees the so-called widow. Happy Wonderland Noriko and her friends all received an e-mail from an unknown address. The message read "April is the cruellest month, breeding". She called Mikado and he did a quick Google search to find T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. Days later, Noriko found an old razor blade hiding in her bathroom. She began remembering cutting herself and trying to commit suicide. During which, Mikado called her and calmed her down. Suddenly, he asked her if she had eaten. Junko kept pressing Noriko about her dreams and trying to get her to remember older memories. Later on, Noriko's friends begin to worry about her after watching video clips on memory sticks they received in a big box. She overheard Mikado and Masaomi talking about her slowly breaking down. They cause her to wonder and remember all of the scars on her arms. It doesn't help that Izaya asked her the same questions that Junko did under the pretense of looking for his lost phone. During dinner five days before Christmas thanks to Etsuko's Mnemosyne, Noriko remembers her scars on her body, starving herself thin, and getting to kill herself. However, she also began to remember find memories of a man smelling like oranges and seeing the fireflies with him in a shallow river. Deep Blue Wonderland Noriko, Anri, and Chiharu all get invited to Mikado's apartment by Masaomi to have a little impromptu Christmas party. Earlier after smelling some jasmine scented perfume from a girl dressed up as Santa handing out flyers, due to Mnemosyne, Noriko remembers a woman in Chou Mori sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. A doctor walks into the room and shows her an article about a woman killing her three children before committing suicide. He asks her why her God didn't save those children in attempt to "kill her god". The patient doesn't take the bait, leaving her therapist more frustrated than before. In her room was jasmine incense to calm her down. Chiharu snaps Noriko back into reality and drags into the electronic shop. Mikado sees a shadow around Noriko's shoulders whispering, "Murderer" as if chanting. He reaches out to touch it, but it disappears. Noriko asks him what he wanted and Mikado lies and said there was something on her, but said it was gone. In "Tetsu", she is seen with the girls talking to Emily Akimoto. It is revealed later on that Noriko is starting to have memories of having a husband and son. She says herself carrying the dead child as well as herself during various break downs in the past. Desperate with nowhere else to turn, Noriko demands that Mikado give her Izaya's phone number. Despite Masaomi's objections, Mikado gives her the number anyway. That evening, Noriko calls Izaya and starts asking questions. He tells her that he doesn't have real information about her and tries to make her remember her true past. While the information broker talks to her, she starts having flashes of more memories. Noriko ends up feeling sick and ending the call. Izaya tells her that he will talk with her later. Wonderland Chaos Noriko is seen heading to school with Mikado, Masaomi, Anri, and Chiharu. The girls don't what's going on with Mikado. Later on, Noriko gets into a car late at night and talks to an unknown person. Her personality changes in the middle of the conversation and says "Noriko" isn't her real name. Caged Wonderland Noriko, Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri are waiting in the hospital to visit Chiharu. She is the only one kept out of the loop about Tandeki's work. Mikado hopes to keep it that way. Devil's Wonderland Noriko learns along with everyone else that Mikado is a tadpole. Then she helps her friends take Chiharu home. Later, a mysterious diary is delivered to Noriko. Thanks to this diary, she starts to get back more strange memories. First, she notices that the handwriting in the book is a match to her own. She isn't sure if this is possible or not because the entries date back to 1981. A strange man calls her on the phone, calling her "Hya-chan". Noriko is confused by him saying they will get to know each other again real soon. It is revealed that Junko sent Noriko the diary when she calls her up. Things get weirder when Noriko goes out to buy dinner. She runs into Makoto and Evie on the street. She runs over to Makoto saying that he looks pale and needs to eat. Noriko comments on how he shouldn't be starving himself for her and the baby. Evie tells her off and the girl doesn't know why she said those things. In an alley, Noriko meets up with Michiko. Michiko confirms that they know each other and that Noriko knows Makoto. She doesn't want to drag the girl back into the game but realizes that she has no choice when Noriko remembers that she had a son. Now, she feels that she has to see Makoto again. Relationships Chiharu Hashimoto Main Article: Chiharu Hashimoto Chiharu is Noriko's best friend. She is fiercely protective of her gentle friend. Chiharu will do everything in her power to keep her away from Izaya, Junko, and Kitano. However, there are secrets she won't tell Noriko for her own safety. Mikado Ryugamine Main Article: Mikado Ryuugamine Mikado and Noriko are good friends. Just like Chiharu, he too is very protective of her. However, it might be hinted that he might have known her from somewhere before... Masaomi Kida Main Article: Masaomi Kida Masaomi is another good friend of Noriko's. Like Mikado and Chiharu, he too is concerned about her mental state. She even overheard him and Mikado talking about her. Anri Sonohara Main Article: Anri Sonohara Anri is another good friend of Noriko's. She too is concerned about her friend's fading sanity. In fact, Anri was the one who alerted Mikado to the problems in Happy Wonderland. Ringo Main Article: Ringo Noriko, Chiharu, and Anri grow close to the young freshman girl despite initially being put off by her. Ringo invited them over for tea and treats every day after school. However, this friendship with her wouldn't last long after she took them to meet her younger brother. Anri, Noriko, and Chiharu watched in horror as a clown-like caterpillar monster bit off Ringo's head. Junko Nakahara Main Article: Junko Nakahara Junko is the school nurse at Raira Academy. She seems to have a twisted interest in Noriko and keeps trying to ask her questions that she knows that will upset the girl. Because of this, Chiharu and the others try to keep their friend away from Junko. Yuki Yuki was Noriko's guardian. Noriko hates Yuki because she thinks she was too controlling and tried to make her take so much mediciation. She didn't even like when her guardian went snooping in her room. Noriko had to decorate her room with cats because Yuki is afraid of them. She doesn't even notice when her guardian goes missing. Trivia * Noriko's inspiration comes from Noriko Shimabara from the movie Noriko's Dinner Table directed by Sion Sono and Noriko Nakagawa from the novel/manga/movie Battle Royale. The novel and manga from the latter was written by Koushun Takami while the movie was directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Category:Wonderland Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Human Category:Protagonists Category:Characters